


15x20 coda: somewhere on a beach

by contemplativepancakes



Series: Season 15 codas [12]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Episode: s15e20 Carry On, Fix It, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Post-Episode: s15e20 Carry On, until in the second act i give us the beach scene we all deserve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27638867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/contemplativepancakes/pseuds/contemplativepancakes
Summary: Dean’s not sure where exactly he’s going, but he thinks he’ll know once he’s there.There’s a cassette playing on repeat, and it shreds at Dean’s heart, but he doesn’t have the willpower to take it out. He looks out the window and drums his fingers on the wheel, humming along.Finally, Dean pulls off onto the shoulder along the road. He doesn’t know why, but there’s something tugging his internal compass, making him gravitate to walking through a dirt path through the woods. He puts one foot in front of the other for what seems like hours.Dean’s lost track of time by the time he comes to stand outside a familiar looking barn.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Season 15 codas [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1539418
Comments: 57
Kudos: 478





	15x20 coda: somewhere on a beach

**Author's Note:**

> giving this show another hour of my life so i can give us the fluff we deserve

Dean drives, and drives, and drives. The last time he was in heaven, all his memories had played out as he followed the road, but this time, it’s just an endless stretch of highway. It winds through scenic passes, alternating between wooded areas and rolling expenses of plains. Dean had always enjoyed driving in places like this the best. 

He pats a hand along Baby’s dash. She’s been his one constant over the years, and she’s still here for him now. He smiles as he turns on the heat and the army men in the vents start to rattle. 

Dean’s mind wanders as he drives, passing no other cars. Bobby had told him all of the heavens were connected now, like it should be. That Jack had fixed it, and Cas had helped. 

Dean’s not sure where exactly he’s going, but he thinks he’ll know once he’s there. 

There’s a cassette playing on repeat, and it shreds at Dean’s heart, but he doesn’t have the willpower to take it out. He looks out the window and drums his fingers on the wheel, humming along. 

Finally, Dean pulls off onto the shoulder along the road. He doesn’t know why, but there’s something tugging his internal compass, making him gravitate to walking through a dirt path through the woods. He puts one foot in front of the other for what seems like hours. Dean’s lost track of time by the time he comes to stand outside a familiar looking barn. Something propels him inside, and he looks around at all the spray painted sigils everywhere. Fuck, this is from a lifetime ago. If he focuses hard enough, he can hear Bobby calling him an idjit as he messes one of the sigils up, shoving the book under Dean’s nose and making him start again. 

So much has happened since then, and it’s hard to believe that Dean was ever the person he was in this barn for the first time, scared and alone and angry. Shit, he had just gotten back from hell. 

Dean runs his fingers along the rough walls as he waits, letting the sensation ground him and keep him from vibrating out of his skin. He knows what he’s longing for, and he’s willing to stay here for however long it takes. 

Eventually, after Dean’s propped himself on a barrel he found in the corner and has just about fallen asleep, the barn doors bang open. There’s no sparks overhead this time, but that’s okay, because Dean feels them in his stomach, making his heart kick up into overdrive. 

“Hello, Dean.” 

Dean jerks his head up and quirks a smile. “You always were one for big entrances.”

There’s a worried look on Cas’s face, and Dean rushes to him, pulling him close by the lapels of his trench coat. “I love you, too, dumbass,” he breathes. 

Cas didn’t give him the chance to say it then, so he has to get it out. The words tumble out of him, snippets of confessions he’d held back, all the things he’d never said out loud. “I’m sorry it took so long,” Dean says, ducking his head shyly. 

“Dean, I—”

Dean cuts him off with a kiss, clinging to Cas like he might disappear again if Dean doesn’t hold on tightly enough. 

Cas pulls back. “Bobby told me you were here, and I came as soon as I could, but— Where’s Sam?”

“He’s,” Dean thinks. “He’s carrying on. He’ll be okay without me.”

“He learned from the best,” Cas says, tilting his head up to meet Dean’s eyes. 

Dean snorts. “I don’t know about that, but he’s still down there, fighting the good fight.”

“Saving people, hunting things, the family business?” Cas asks wryly. 

“Exactly!” Dean laughs and pulls Cas in again, in awe that this is something he gets to have now. “Just so you know, you’re going to be stuck with me forever now. There won’t be any getting rid of me this time.”

Cas smiles. “Good. I intend to keep you around.”

-

Dean buries his toes in the sand, wriggling them around and kicking some of the sand at Cas. 

Cas huffs from where he’s sitting on a beach towel with a book, sending Dean an exasperated look. “Really, Dean? Must you act like a three year old?”

Cas fans himself with the shirt Dean made him wear, a blue piece with flamingos on it that makes Cas look like a very adorable dad, in Dean’s humble opinion. Cas is apparently still too hot, so he unbuttons the shirt and sheds it, making Dean quickly avert his eyes, even though he’s allowed to look now, god dammit. 

“Whatcha reading?” Dean asks to cover his flusteredness. 

Cas flashes him the cover, and Dean thinks he does a good job of not blushing too much at the two shirtless men making out on the front. 

“Uh, nice.” Dean flounders for a minute before reaching for the sunscreen. “Here, turn around, we can’t have you getting burnt.”

Cas looks like he wants to protest, and hey, Dean gets it, by John’s standards, sunscreen was for wimps. Dean just doesn’t particularly feel like Cas getting skin cancer is something he wants to go through, and besides, “I’ll give you a nice massage,” Dean whispers in his ear. 

“We’re in public, Dean.”

“Not like that, you perv.”

Dean squirts the lotion into his hand before rubbing them together and spreading it over Cas’s back, digging his thumbs into the knots. 

Cas leans back into Dean, humming contentedly, and Dean stops himself from pressing a kiss between Cas’s shoulder blades, before he does it anyway. They’ve saved the world five times over, and if he wants to kiss his boyfriend, well, he fucking will. Besides, what is heaven for if not to kiss his idiot angel, anyway? 

If Cas would never get burnt anyway, well, that’s not important. Dean’s hands slip lower on Cas’s back, slipping under the waistband of his swim trunks until Cas swats him away. 

Dean smirks and tugs Cas closer to him. They sit there, leaned together, until Sam and Eileen stroll up, hand in hand with Sam holding Miracle’s leash. 

Dean tangles his fingers with Cas’s. “Couldn’t get much better than this, huh?”

**Author's Note:**

> if you feel so inclined, a kudos and/or comment would really brighten my day after this disaster of an episode! feel free to come hang with me on [tumblr!](https://contemplativepancakes.tumblr.com/)


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